Abstract

Through the use of interviews, the research indicates that there has been a growth of alternative power bases within the university, new roles and responsibilities for administrative staff, and a different working environment for academics.

This has enabled a significant power shift to central nonacademic departments at the expense of academics who directly support the core competence of the university, teaching and research, without which the university would not exist.

Well-qualified and experienced administrators fight on a daily basis to enter data into a system that is unfriendly and nonintuitive, relying on an elite group of staff (good housekeepers) to solve their problems.